The first industry standard was promulgated laser TVs began to accelerate

On April 1, China's first laser TV industry standard "Specification for Laser Projection Display of Television Receiving Equipment" (hereinafter referred to as the "Specification") issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China was officially implemented, which gave this emerging home appliance field a clearer development path, among which the requirements for the necessary functions and the provisions of brightness units will further prevent the behavior of fish and beads in the market, and will also allow the industry to enter a period of high-speed and healthy development.

Industry says "no" to fish in muddy waters

"There are also some manufacturers on the market that use the color projection standard to make laser TVs under the banner of laser TVs, which ultimately damages the rights and interests of consumers." With the official implementation of the first industry standard for laser TV, those products with mixed eyes and poor user experience will be gradually eliminated from market competition. Only in this industry can it prosper and the industry can develop. Zhong Qiang, secretary general of the Laser TV Industry Branch of the China Electronic Video Industry Association, told the Beijing Business Daily reporter.

It is understood that the "Specification" was jointly drafted by 25 units such as China Electronic Technology Standardization Institute, Hisense, Changhong, xiaomi and so on. The "Specification" stipulates a number of indicators for laser TV products, such as the requirements for its functions, geometric image correction, automatic protection, etc. are required items, and optional functions include optical focusing, built-in speakers, etc. The requirements for optical performance include the clarity corresponding to standard definition, high definition, high definition, 4K and 8K in both horizontal and vertical states, and clear requirements are also made for contrast, brightness, geometric deformation, etc. While the standards are given, the document also describes the corresponding measurement conditions and measurement methods.

It is worth noting that the Code clarifies that the brightness unit of laser TVs is nits, not lumens. Industry insiders believe that the principle of laser TV is that the picture is reflected through the screen into the human eye imaging, so the use of nits for measurement is more in line with people's visual needs.

For the introduction of this specification, consumer electronics expert Xu Yiqiang believes that this move clarifies the status of laser display technology as the main force in the TV industry, saying that "not all display technology can be applied to TV products." At the same time, it also gives a clear technical standard and definition of this new product, so that many projectors can not fish in muddy waters, and sell projectors under the guise of laser TV.

The market highlights the pattern of competing for deer

Long before the standard was formulated, the popularity of laser TVs was already quietly brewing. According to RUNTO data, from 2015 to 2021, the compound annual growth rate of China's laser TV market is as high as 155.8%. Wang Wei, deputy general manager of Hisense Laser Display Company, told Beijing Business Daily that on Baidu, Xiaohongshu, Zhihu and other platforms, the active search volume with "laser TV" as the keyword increased by more than 120% year-on-year. At the same time, laser TV has also become a replacement product for large-screen eye protection favored by consumers.

Industry observer Kang Zhao introduced to the Beijing Business Daily reporter that "the main supplier of laser TV in the world is a Chinese enterprise." According to the data, in 2021, the shipment volume of the Chinese mainland laser TV market reached 280,000 units, an increase of 31.9% year-on-year, and sales of 4.7 billion yuan, an increase of 27.7% year-on-year. Kang Zhao believes that setting standards is conducive to China's export of related products.

A number of brands, including Samsung, Sony, LG, etc., have set foot in the laser TV track, "competing for deer" in the Chinese market, and domestic brands include Hisense, Changhong, Fengmi and so on. According to the industry view, laser TV currently presents a "high oligopoly" market pattern, and the market share of the top three companies is as high as 84%. According to Lottu Technology data, in 2021, the market share of Hisense laser TV will be 40%-50%, Fengmi and Changhong will slightly exceed 20%, while millet and nuts will be less than 10%.

The industry view is that this pattern can make enterprises with first-mover advantages eat more early dividends, which is why brands are scrambling. In addition, the formulation of standards can also give first-movers more voice.

The industry is becoming more and more healthy and mature

With the increase in laser TV shipments, the original high prices are also breaking the ice. According to the latest GfK Report, the average price of laser TV online has dropped from 40,000 to 50,000 yuan in 2018 to 10,000 or 20,000 yuan now, and the participating brands in the laser TV industry have begun to increase, and the price is more competitive.

For the current problem of the dispute between laser TV and LCD TV on the market, Xu Yiqiang said that it has long been distinguished from LCD TV in terms of function, saying that the positioning of laser TV at the beginning of its birth is a large screen, aiming at the living room viewing needs of mainstream domestic families.

If you look at the segment of "home theater", you can see that the domestic home theater market has grown from 21.25 billion yuan in 2014 to 54.85 billion yuan in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 14.5%, which may confirm the high demand of consumers for watching movies at home.

It is understood that laser display is an important technical direction for the development of the color TV industry in the mainland, and it is also the first TV category in the world to achieve technological innovation and leadership, ranking among the key special projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology's "14th Five-Year Plan" National Key Research and Development Plan "New Display and Strategic Electronic Materials". Since 2014, under the active promotion of leading enterprises in the industry such as Hisense, the mainland has achieved global leadership in key technologies such as light source design, optical machine module, and whole machine design; in terms of patents, the number of patents applied for and authorized by China in the field of laser display has jumped to the first place in the world.

Kang Zhao pointed out that any new species in the early stage of promotion, there are high prices, no standards and other issues, new technology products are often for high-end users to use, laser TV is the same, and with the improvement of the market, the industry will become more and more mature and healthy. In addition, Xu Yiqiang is optimistic about the promotion effect of the "Specification" on the industry, and said: "It will attract more upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain to participate and expand the laser TV industry." ”

Beijing Business Daily reporter Jin Chaoli Wang Zhuli